Recipes for Fake Rock
Several sites related to fake rocks can be found by following this link:
- A complete set of instructions can be found at the following URL: Fixall Stone Table
- Fixall is also known as QuickFix in parts of the country
- Call 800-28CUSTOM to find a retail dealer near you
- Description
- Ingredients
- Portland cement
- Builder's sand
- Peat Moss
- Water or acrylic fortifying additive
- Instructions
- Mix 1 part Portland cement, 2 parts sand, and 1/2 part peat moss
- Add water or acrylic fortifying additive
- Description
- This recipe was sent to me by a friend who saw it in "Garden Gate Magazine".
- Ingredients
- 1/4-inch hardware cloth
- 20-gauge galvanized wire
- Packing tape
- Portland cement
- Fine-milled sphagnum peat moss
- Pearlite
- Instructions
- If the boulder is to be a large one, you should build a wooden
frame for the basic shape.
- Use the 1/4-inch hardware cloth and galvanized wire to build the
desired shape.
- Cover the structure with packing tape. This will give you a better
surface for the hypertufa.
- Mix the Portland cement, sphagnum moss, and Pearlite in equal
parts by volume.
- A 12-inch diameter rock will require a 1-lb coffee can of each dry
ingredient.
- Add water until the mixture has the consistency of brown sugar (moist
and sticky) -- not soupy.
- Apply the hypertufa to the structure, and let it dry.
- Description
- Recipe was found in a note written by Greg Cannistraci on rec.ponds
- The note, "Making a fake Boulder for waterfall!!", was written on July 8, 1998
- Ingredients
- Chicken wire for frame
- Paper mache
- Fiberglass cloth
- Laminating resin
- Paint (latex?)
- Instructions
- Use chicken wire to make a frame
- Paper mache the exterior of the chicken-wire frame
- Let the paper mache dry thoroughly
- Cover the exterior with fiberglass cloth
- Apply laminating resin to the fiberglass cloth
- The "rock" is paintable and very light
- Description
- Ingredients
- Portland cement
- Builder's sand
- Peat Moss
- Water or acrylic fortifying additive
- Cement dye, dry or liquid
- Instructions
- Mix 1 part Portland cement, 1 part sand, and 2 parts peat moss
- Add cement dye if desired
- Add water or acrylic fortifying additive
- Benefits of the acrylic fortifying additive
- Help the hypertufa adhere to the liner
- Make stronger hypertufa
- Help prevent the leaching of lime into the pond water
- Peat moss can be replaced with vermiculite to reduce the weight
- Description
- Ingredients
- Portland cement
- Builder's sand
- Peat Moss or cheap black potting soil
- Clay soil
- Water or acrylic fortifying additive
- Instructions
- Mix 1 part Portland cement, 2 parts sand, 1/2 part peat moss (or black soil), and 1/2 part clay soil.
- Add water or acrylic fortifying additive
- You can also add bits of gravel or leaf mulch
- Description
- Ingredients
- Rebar and metal lath for frame
- Colored grout mix
- Exterior latex paint and pigments
- Small plastic bottles which are pressurized by a little hand pump on the
bottle (Home Depot in the insecticide section)
- Instructions
- Use the rebar and metal lath to build a frame for the rock
- Apply the grout mix to the frame
- Let the grout mix dry just enough to sculpt
- Sculpt the grout mix to the desired texture and form
- After the grout mix is completely dry, apply the latex paint and pigments
- Use the small spray bottles to apply the paint and pigments
- On September 11, 2000, M. R. Daniels started a thread on rec.ponds which discussed
building fake rocks using fiberglass. His instructions and other pertinent comments are
found on a separate page.
- Description
- Actual identity of "Peter" is unknown
- Recipe was obtained from rec.ponds
- Hollow boulder rock approximately 15 inches high and 30 inches in diameter
- Cured rock can be sanded, filed, or drilled
- Ingredients for a hollow boulder
- The boulder itself
- Portland cement
- Concrete dye, if desired
- 1/8-inch or 1/4-inch mesh hardware cloth
- 3/8-inch rebar
- Rebar tie wire
- Steel wool -- medium to 0000
- Temporary support during construction
- Foam packing pellets
- Large trash bag
- Cardboard
- Plywood
- Instructions
- Bend rebar to the shape of the base of the rock
- Tie ends of rebar together using the rebar tie wire
- Cut mesh screen, and tie the ends to the rebar
- Shape the screen to look like a rock
- Fill the large trash bag with the foam packing pellets
- Place the trash bag into the cavity, and pack tightly
- Cap hole with a sheet of cardboard
- Turn the "rock" over so that it is sitting on its base
- Place "rock" on a flat piece of plywood
- Unroll the steel wool into long strips
- If desired, add concrete dye to Portland cement mix
- Add water to sour cream consistancy
- Lay the steel wool strip into the cement, and saturate it
- Lay the saturated strips on the mesh screen until it is covered
- Thickness of one strip will be approxiately 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch
- The more you laminate and crisscross the strips, the thicker and
stronger the "rock" will be
- Keep the "rock" wet and covered in plastic until cured (approximately
one week)
- Description
- Actual identity of "Peter" is unknown
- Recipe was obtained from rec.ponds
- Flagstone is 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick and approximately 24" by 12"
- Flagstone can be shaped after it cures
- Ingredients for a flagstone
- Portland cement
- Dry, clean dirt (high clay content)
- Concrete dye, if desired
- Instructions
- Mix 1 part Portland cement to 2 parts dry, clean dirt
- Add concrete dye, if desired
- Add water to mudpie consistancy
- Dig a depression in the shape of the desired flagstone
- Line depression with plastic
- Pour the mixture into the depression
- Keep the flagstone wet under plastic for approximately one week
- For greater strength but less ability to shape the flagstone after it dries, use mortar mix, portland cement, sand, and dirt
- Description
- Build a spouting pond ornament by carving a block of hypertufa
- This information was obtained from an article called "My Husband Calls It
Quasimodo" by Shirley Rush.
The article was on page 94 of the March-April 2000 issue of "Pond and Garden".
- Ingredients for hypertufa:
- 1 part Portland cement
- 1 1/2 part peat moss
- 1 1/2 part perlite
- Water
- Instructions for mixing the hypertufa:
- Wear gloves while handling the material (particularly the Portland cement)
- Mix the peat moss and the perlite
- Add the Portland cement and mix well
- Add water gradually to achieve the consistency of creamy cottage cheese
- Instructions for pouring the hypertufa block:
- Decide what size hypertufa block is desired
- Find a study box large enough to hold the block
- Cover the outside of the box with duct tape
- If you wish the pond ornament to spout water, place a plastic tube in the box
so that one end will form the spout and the other end will connect to the water
source
- Mix the hypertufa and pour the mixture into the box
- Let the mixture dry for four to five days
- Remove the box
- Finishing the pond ornament
- Carve the hypertufa block into the desired shape using knives, rasps, chisels, saws,
etc
- Connect the pond ornament to the water source
- You may grow moss on the pond ornament by following the instructions in
Rogaine for Rocks
- Description
- This recipe is a variation on the Laminated Paper Mache Rocks
- Ingredients
- Chicken wire for frame
- Great Stuff spray foam
- Fiberglass cloth
- Laminating resin
- Paint (latex?)
- Instructions
- Use chicken wire to make a frame
- Apply spray foam to the exterior of the chicken-wire frame
- Use a wet trowel to smooth the spray foam
- Let the spray foam dry thoroughly
- Cover the exterior with fiberglass cloth
- Apply laminating resin to the fiberglass cloth
- The "rock" is paintable, very light, and the resin skin should protect the
spray foam
- I have seen commercial fake rocks which appeared to be made in the manner
Bonnie's Links
created by Bonnie Lee Hill,
bonniehill@verizon.net
last modified on January 19, 2006
URL: http://mysite.verizon.net/bonniehill/ponds/pages/recipes.html
Christopher Lowell's Faux Stone Table 
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